It feels like it was only yesterday that Derek Jeter walked off for the last time, the Kansas City Royals had an epic MLB Playoffs run, and the SF Giants won Game 7 of the World Series. Spring training is right around the corner kicking off in just about two months and Nike is ready for the games to begin.
Coming in 2015 is the first true retro of the Nike Air Diamond Fury as the iconic baseball trainer celebrates its 20th anniversary of initial release. The Diamond Fury was the first un-official pair of Ken Griffey Jr shoes that he wore in 1995 the season before the debut of the Nike Air Griffey Max 1. While the shoe didn’t call out ‘The Kid” in the name of the shoe, the Diamond Fury came in a version that sported Mariners colors (called Mariner Emerald at the time), the #24 on the ankle, and “JR” branding on the tongue. The shoe also came out in low top form with the M’s colors and Griffey took part in the ad campaign for the shoe.
Mariners and Griffey fans alike might recall that it was in the Nike Air Diamond Fury that Griffey made an incredible catch at the wall of the Kingdome. Unfortunately for Griffey, the catch was made while crashing into the wall shattering his wrist. The injury cost him 73 games, but thankfully he was able to return for the epic postseason.
Ken Griffey Jr makes catch at the wall in Nike Air Diamond Fury (AP Photo/Gary Stewart)The 1995 season was a historic one for Ken Griffey Jr. and the Seattle Mariners. The team went the furthest in the MLB Playoffs that season in franchise history after coming from behind to defeat the Yankees in Game 5 of the ALDS. The memorable moment when Ken Griffey Jr. scored the winning run from first base off an Edgar Martinez double was a defining moment in Griffey’s career and made his debut of the Griffey Max 1 even greater as he wore those shoes in that game.
Back in 2012, the Diamond Fury was fused with Nike Hyperfuse and a full length Max Air sole to created the Nike Air Max Griffey Fury. This might have been good enough for some, but for many this was not the real deal.
The first colorway that surfaced via Instagram is an original colorway from 1995, but hopefully we will see the two colors listed below too. The “Fire Red” colorway was for Deion Sanders. Also below is a pic of Michael Jordan wearing the Nike Air Diamond Fury during his days with the Birmingham Barons.
RELATED: Nike Air Diamond Fury – Throwback Thursday (posted July 1, 2010)
Nike Air Diamond Fury from 1995 – “Mariner Emerald” & “Fire Red” (pic cred SF) Nike Air Diamond Fury Black/White (pic cred SF) Michael Jordan wearing Nike Air Diamond Fury (pic cred PTone NT)
